


Set the Stage

by Lazchan



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-27 19:24:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8413702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/pseuds/Lazchan
Summary: Licht shares a dream with Hyde and learns more about Hyde than he ever thought of...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Can be read as part of the universe of Waiting for the Curtain to Fall

Licht was confused when he opened his eyes; he didn’t recognize the space at all. He'd have never have gone to such a rundown looking theater. There were hardly any seats and the stage was scanty, but…he felt something slide across his legs and he stared at the shadows drifting by and he swallowed a curse.  _Why am I in that shitty rat's mind again?_  They hadn't even been sharing the same room and he didn't remember doing anything to anger Hyde enough that he'd have been swamped inside his soul again. 

He was about to open his mouth to demand an answer, when a shadow tugged on his wrist and laughed lowly. "Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a show?" it whispered. "The play is on, the story is being told—you have to stay for it and be quiet!" 

Licht scowled down at it, but then his attention was caught to the performance that was on; it was different than the one that Hyde had showed him, but he was swept up in the center of it, nonetheless and completely lost his ability to comment on seeing the so very  _different_ Hyde than the demon vampire he knew so well. He knew this scrawny teenage child was Hyde, as well as he knew himself, but—it was so hard to believe. 

He stayed back with the shadows, watching scenes play out, scowling and looking for an exit, but as before, the only thing that existed in this corner of Hyde's mind was just a theater with no escape. There was no hint that he was a vampire and Licht came to a sudden, sickening realization and he took a step backward. 

The scenes playing out couldn't be true—the idiot had always been a vampire, hadn't he? He hadn't been a lonely  _kid_ , just looking for a family. Even if it was all a fantasy playing out on the broken and blackened wood of the stage, Licht was already vowing to give the servamp of Sloth a beating for being a part of the family of demons that tricked Lawless. 

He had to have made some sort of sound, because the shadows seemed to drift away and all the lights on the stage went dark. The players acting out the scene froze in their steps and Licht felt a cold chll run down his spine.   

"Some things are private, little angel." The shadows gathered further around what he thought was Hyde, but something was terribly wrong about him. His eyes were a blank darkness and his body half-dissolved into shadow. 

"You idiot rat," Licht glared at him; not about to be intimidated by a demon. He was an angel, after all. "I just woke up here in your mind. I should be asking you what the hell is going on." He looked around for an exit again, but the space had shrunk around him. 

"Maybe you wandered because you got oh-so-close and trusting to a monster," the Hyde in front of him hissed. "You thought of him as a partner and someone to be trusted—but nothing but a  _monster._ " 

"… who are you?" he demanded. "You're not that shitty demon." 

"I am him, though," he laughed softly. "I'm more of him than the figure he presents to  _you_. The real truth—the One and—" His voice was suddenly cut short and blood started to drip down his white shirt, before everything collapsed into shadow again around him. 

"I'm the One and Only," Hyde snapped, his sword vanishing back into the dark scarf that had produced it. "You  _never_  earned that name." He looked up to see Licht staring at him in shock and he made a face.. "Angel, why are you here?" he demanded. "I didn't invite the angel, after all~" the tone was almost sing-song and playful, but there was a note of uncertainty and doubt. 

"Who was that?" Licht demanded, shaking a little. He hadn't realized how vile the presence was until it was gone and it was just Hyde in front of him again. 

Hyde's gaze flicked to the side. "Just my demon, Lichtan. You should wake up now. I was having a nice dream, after all." The players had started to move again from their spots  and Licht couldn't help but stare, caught up in Hyde's past despite himself. 

" _I_  was having the dream," Hyde covered his eyes and turned him away from the stage; an open door waiting for him. There was a moment of disorientation and the protests that he wanted to voice were cut off abruptly as the source of his anger promptly vanished and Licht woke up for real this time, alone in his room. There were no idiot demons to be seen, but Licht wasn't going to have that, not after what he had seen. 

Still, he didn't go after Hyde right away; he had to think about it first. Had that really been Hyde's past?  _He couldn't have been human and…_ he made a face. He wasn't about to feel pity for the shitty rat demon that had lied to him and chained him to him for the rest of his life. It had to have just been… a story, but… 

… but why do such a story if he didn't know that Licht was watching? Without consciously thinking about it, he got out of bed and started to walk to Hyde's room. He wanted answers and he didn't care if it was the middle of the night. He didn't think that Hyde would even lock his door, but it the knob didn't turn underneath his hand and he gave a snort of disgust. He debated it if it was worth it to pound on the door, waking the idiot up, but he thought about Kranz waking up because of it and didn't want to speak to Hyde so badly that he'd be forced to give up his private room to do so. 

He thumped his fist very lightly on the door, leaning his head against it. "Wake up, idiot," he muttered. Licht had to talk to him to try and figure out the truth of it all and it wasn't through a stupid dream. He had to ask if it had just been a weird dream of his or if he had entered into the vampire's mind again. He knocked once more and scowled at the lack of response. He'd talk to Hyde in the morning, whether the vampire wanted him to or not.

~

He would have pushed it to the back of his mind as a weird dream, if it wasn't for the cautious look that Hyde was giving him when he saw him in the morning. He ignored Kranz's mutter of " _Dafür ist es zu früh_." He instead focused on Hyde, who was doing his best to slink away. He grabbed onto his scarf, gripping it tightly. It  _was_  too early for this, but if he let it go any later, he'd never get the truth. 

"Last night," he bit out. "Explain yourself, you idiot rat." 

"Last night, angel?" Hyde tugged his scarf away and smoothed out the edges, his tone bright and easy and his look of confusion was carefully contrived. "I was sleeping last night, weren't you?" he asked. "We even had our own rooms this time—" 

Kranz watched over the rim of his mug, hand tensing as if he expected he would have to reach up and smack sense into the two of them soon enough. Licht's glare was warning enough before he yanked Hyde close again, eyes narrowed. "That didn't stop you from invading my dreams, you evil demon." 

"Invade  _your_  dreams? You invaded  _mine_ ," Hyde snapped before he realized what came out of his mouth and then he turned red as Licht gave him a triumphant smile at getting the truth of him so easily.   

Now Kranz looked more awake and interested in the conversation and Licht flushed before pulling Hyde out of the room, ignoring his protests and strugges. Kranz didn't need to hear any of what he was saying to the idiot vampire. He wasn't even sure that it had been a real thing until Hyde confirmed it. 

He shoved Hyde down on his bed and his expression softened slightly at the way Hyde held himself, staring at the window instead of at Licht. "What was that dream?" he asked, voice still sharp, but the curiosity was stronger than his annoyance at the moment. 

Hyde removed his glasses and polished the lenses, giving a shrug. "It was a dream, Lichtan. You've seen the inside of my mind before. This was just a differnet aspect of it." He looked vaguely uncomfortable. "I didn't bring you in, you know. You found your own way there." That manic grin was back on his face and Licht itched to kick it off. "Just like an angel!" 

"Were you human before, Hyde?" The question that came out hadn't been the one that he had been intending to ask. He wanted to know about that shadow-Hyde, the one that had darkness for eyes and nothing of the vampire he knew. He wanted to know why the stage of his mind was different. He  _did_  want to know about the history of Hyde's past that had played upon the stage, but not in such a blunt manner. 

Hyde tilted his head and watched him, unnervingly still for a moment. "What do you think, Licht?" he asked. "How much did you see on the stage before my demon interrupted the show?" 

Licht frowned and crossed his arms aganist his chest, watching Hyde carefully before he spoke. "I saw a scrawny kid that followed vampires home," he said slowly, but the bite was out of his voice. "And then became one himself. You wanted to become one?" 

"I ... " he rubbed the back of his head. "I was human before, Lichtan," he agreed, but he didn't answer anything else, just kept that odd smile on his face. "Even storybook vampires have to be human once, don't they?" he asked. "I just didn't have to actually die to become one." 

Licht opened his mouth in protest, that part of the play was burned into his mind; didn't ... he stared at Hyde, confused. "... you were—you were  _stabbed_ , you idiot! How is that not dying?" He he seen Hyde stabbed before, more times than he could count—he'd beat up and tried to stab the vampire himself, before he realized knives were useless aganist something that couldn't  _die_. 

"That was the demon, Lichtan." Now Hyde gave him a surprised look. "Were you watching a different act?" He laughed, the sound almost high-pitched. "Did you have a longer talk with my other half than I realized? He must have showed you an interesting play, indeed!" He leaned forward. "Don't listen to a demon's lies, angel." 

"I listen to yours, don't I?" Licht snapped, shoving him away. "You idiot, I was watching what was going on the stage of your past and I saw you—" he shook his head. "Weren't you even watching the show that was going on, idiot?" 

Hyde shrugged and leaned back. "It was a long time ago, Licht. Sometimes memories go on for a repeat performance inside my mind. You should ask Sleepy Ash. He was there when I became part of the family." 

"When his family tricked you, you mean," Licht muttered, eyeing the vampire in a new way now. There was still a lot he didn't know about what was going on in Hyde's mind and while he didn't intend to go traisping about in that shadow-ridden hell that Hyde called his soul, he was going to get answers one way or another. 

"I went willingly, Licht." Hyde's eyes met his own and there was nothing but calm certainty there. "No matter what you thought you saw, you only saw a part of the story." He got up and brushed past Licht as if nothing had happened. 

Licht frowned and let him go, thinking over what he saw and what it all meant. It was certain that even kicking the vampire into talking wouldn't yield him any answers. Not yet at least.... and part of him wondered if Hyde actually did remember or if he had blocked it out so much the replay of his life didn't let him recall his own death. 

Maybe he should get some more answers— _If we're going to be stuck together, then as an angel, I need all the answers that I can find. Even if it means dealing with demons._  He stood up and reached for his phone, scrolling down the list of names until he found Mahiru's number. 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

It was easy enough to arrange to be able to visit the Sloth pair—Mahiru was always open to 'allies' and friendship and Licht was allowing him this, since the boy had finally realized that working with demons wasn't a game or a trick. He wasn’t quite as angelic as Licht himself was, but he had made a large improvement.

More importantly, he had gone inside the core of his Servamp as Licht himself had and would be able to understand. Kuro had been there since the beginning of it all and would be answer Licht's questions, whether he wanted to or not. _At least, I hope he will…_ Licht knew that while he was strong as an angel, Sleepy Ash was stronger than he was.

Even keeping Hyde away was relatively easy; he hadn't given up on doing his part time jobs and it was simple enough to feign his desire to keep his annoying demon away. That part had changed slightly; he didn’t want to punch and kick him _quite_ as bad as before. He could act a little himself, though, if it meant keeping Hyde away while he asked prying questions. 

So he found himself in Mahiru's living room, Kuro scrunched up on the edge of the couch and a hand-held game seemingly holding his attention. From the sound of it, it was the same one that he and Hyde were playing and he almost asked what name Kuro had given his pet. 

_You have more important things to get at here,_ he scolded himself. It wasn't angel-like to get distracted over something like a video game. It also wasn't befitting of an angel to be so curious about a demon's past, but … it was Hyde and he couldn't shake the image out of his head as to how the young boy had become a vampire. 

He focused first on Mahiru, who was already off his guard by handing him a glass of cold tea, before he settled next to Kuro. "You've seen the inside of your demon's head, right?" he demanded, not hesitating and even if it came out awkward, it was what he meant. 

Both Mahiru and Kuro focused their attention on him then and Kuro sighed and put the game aside, looking more tired than he had a moment ago. Mahiru tried for a smile and a shrug. "… a couple of times, Licht," he said slowly. "Once when I got my power from him—" he rubbed at his wrist where the mark of the lead was. "Another time was… well—" his cheeks flushed. 

"When you messed up and had to face your mistakes finally." Licht waved that away, he didn't care how it happened, he was just concerned what had happened and what Mahiru had seen there. Surely, Sleepy Ash couldn't keep it all from his Eve. 

Mahiru's cheeks turned red and he gave a reluctant nod. "Yeah—well—I had to bring Kuro back and—" he shrugged. "Why are you asking, Licht? Did something happen between you and Hyde?" 

Now Kuro looked up, a little more interest in his gaze. "What did you see in my brother's memories?" he asked, expression intent. There was nothing of guilt or nervousness and Licht wondered if a demon could even feel guilt for what had happened in the past. "I can tell you saw something if you wanted to talk to _demons_ about it." 

Licht huffed and looked away a moment. "I saw---I saw him before he was a vampire," he said slowly. Part of him still didn't want to believe that was truth. "Is that just a dream of Hyde's or is that really true?" 

Kuro's eyes widened briefly and he ran a hand through his hair. "What a pain… yeah—we were all human once. I'm surprised that Lawless let you see something so old of a memory." He hunched up more and rested his chin on his knees. 

"I don't think he meant to," Licht admitted. "Maybe it was my angelic powers that let me see something about him." He glared at Kuro again, remembering why he sought him out specifically. "Your family was the one that changed him… tricked him." 

Mahiru rested a hand on Kuro's shoulder and frowned at Licht, expression disapproving. "Kuro didn't do it specifically," he said. "What do you really want to know? Say it simply." 

"You and your simple … " Licht rolled his eyes. "I saw what happened to make him a vampire. Did you know?" he asked, staring at Kuro directly. "Hyde thought it was the demon inside his mind." He couldn't hold back the shudder at the mention of that Hyde; it was everything he thought a demon was. 

That brought out a flinch and Kuro's arms tightened around his legs. "Father made him forget," he said softly. "Don't bring it up to him again. It's better that he thinks it was the demon inside his mind. He spent a long time fighting it." 

Mahiru didn't look as surprised at Licht thought he would be and he really did wonder how much the eldest of the servamps told the simple-minded Eve. 

"… is that why you killed him?" Licht asked, voice more gentle than he meant it to be. He had seen that from the first time Hyde had pulled him inside his mind; or at least the after effects of the meeting. Not yet Hyde and no longer the name that Ophelia had called him; Lawless' mind had already snapped. 

_Hmph. Maybe he had cared for the family, even if he was tricked._

"No—that wasn't the entire reason," he said slowly and something in his gaze chilled Licht and he almost regretted asking the question. Mahiru looked tense as well, but his hand hadn't moved from Kuro's shoulder and he pressed closer to Kuro in a silent gesture of comfort. "You think my siblings and I are demons?" he asked lowly. "Be grateful that my father isn't still alive." 

Licht made a face and crossed his arms over his chest. "You're all demons," he muttered, but it was half-hearted at best. "…so Hyde—you—" he felt unsteady as he had when he had first seen Hyde's past in the shared dream. "You really all were human once?" 

Kuro shrugged and reached for the game again and the tense atmosphere in the room seemed to lessen for the moment. "Of course we were," he gave Licht a pitying look. "You think that we came from nowhere?" His expression was hidden behind the game. "Lawless chose it, even if we tried otherwise to make him think about it before he couldn't go back." He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. "All of this talking is a pain," he muttered. "Did you find out enough to deal with Lawless?" he asked. "My brother can answer your questions about his own past. Don't drag me into it." 

"… I don't think he remembered," Licht admitted quietly. That was what had bugged him the most. That Hyde had been watching his own memories so intensely, as if he had forgotten his life before Ophelia's death destroyed his mind. 

Kuro stared at him again and then over at Mahiru, who only shrugged. "I only saw your mind, Kuro," he stopped giving Licht that disapproving look. "But …doesn't it make a little sense that he might forget?" 

"Not unless one of us made him forget," Kuro shook his head. "We don't forget anything, Mahiru. Only if we made ourselves forget—but it's … hard to do." He closed his eyes and the shadows seemed to ripple and come alive in the room  for a moment. "Talk to Lawless," Kuro said firmly, opening his eyes again, before changing to his cat form and jumping off the couch. "I'm going to take a nap. All of this is too much for a simple cat like me…" 

Mahiru sighed when Kuro left the room and his looked was as tired as Kuro's was for a moment. "It might be best to ask in dreams," he offered softly. "The closer the bond gets, the less you can avoid connecting like that. Kuro kicks me out pretty quickly, but… sometimes, we talk and learn more about each other." 

"Why would I want to learn more about that shitty demon?" Licht snapped. 

"Why did you come all the way out here to find out the truth?" Mahiru countered, raising an eyebrow, smiling a little. 

"Hmph," Licht turned away and opened the door, but came face to face with Hyde, who was looking decidedly on edge and when he opened his mouth to say something, Licht just shoved him away, walking with one hand shoved on Hyde's back and moving him along. 

"Maybe I'll do that," he said. "Not much can hide from an angel like me, after all." He gave a backwards wave and then continued to push at Hyde, ignoring his increasingly annoyed complaints. 

_After all, if Mahiru could do it with how wishy-washy he was being, I can do it even better and faster and learn all about this idiot, lying demon to make sure that he stops hiding stuff from me._  

"Hey, what if I wanted to visit my brother?" Hyde demanded, finally turning on him and glaring. "You can't just push me away, Lichtan—he's my family—" he looked annoyed and stepped around him. "You didn't want me around today as it was and it's because you went to see my brother and his Eve?" 

Licht scowled at him. "Shut up, you idiot rat," he snapped. "You certainly weren't going to tell me anything, so I went and asked them." The undertone of it all said he was worried, even if his words were as scathing as before. 

Hyde suddenly grew very quiet and stared at him and Licht had the sense of that young, scared boy from Hyde's dream-memories again. "What did he tell you?" he asked softly. 

"Nothing much," Licht shook his head, "but he did confirm something—" he yanked at Hyde's scarf. "Come on, I'm not talking about a demon's secrets in such a public place. Let's go home, Hyde—" 

Hyde stared at him again, mouthing the word 'home' and let himself be dragged by Licht until he walked straight into a sunbeam and changed, Licht not even slowing down as he grabbed the hedgehog form of the vampire. Even after the sunlight passed, Hyde stayed in the smaller, more portable form and snuggled close to Licht's throat, relaxing his body. 

"Ask me next time, Licthan," Hyde's voice was quieter than his human form, but it was easy for Licht to hear with the hedgehog so close to his ears. "Don't ask Sleepy Ash…I don't want to hurt my brother." 

"Really…" Licht's voice was dry. "You certainly tried really hard before—" Not that he had any room to talk. He just wouldn't try and hurt Hyde when he was in such a cute form. He had limits, after all. 

"I'm starting to remember a little more," Hyde pressed close and let out a contented sigh at being so close to Licht's warm skin. "Ask me in a few days, Lichtan… it'll be better than you going into my dreams."  He hesitated and Licht rubbed his fingers under Hyde's chin, earning a pleased squeak, before he spoke again. "Safer, too." 

"Don't worry about an angel like me," Licht snorted. It was quiet and peaceful, this time of the day and he felt more relaxed than he had early this morning, now that he had a few more answers and a promise to learn more.


End file.
